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The Dalai Lama presents Krista Tippett with a khata after their conversation at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. (photo: Cindy Brown)

We receive quite a few responses from people who are spurred to create or make something, to act or make a decision after listening to one of our shows. Renee Yates, a woman with multiple degrees in advertising, marketing, and theology living in Evanston, Illinois, wrote this poem “after listening to Ms. Tippett’s interview with the Dalai Lama”:

When pleasure no longer buries the pain And worry does not pay the bills, When depression ceases to shield the rage And anger does not repair the rift, When hope no longer blunts the fear And sadness does not bring the dead back to life, When all feelings have finally quenched And frustration has yielded to peace, Happiness is the last recourse.

Lovely poem, Renee. It seems the only way to experience peace is to want nothing else. When one puts aside his/her desires and agendas, one finds that peace is present. It has always been there but covered up by all the baggage we would add to it in the form of desire or agenda. Just some thoughts stimulated by your poem. FrankCavano-Bluffton, S.C.-frankcavano@hargray.com